Each year Arcadia staff and faculty select an overarching prompt for engagement and reflection, a theme to connect all of our programs around the world. These themes are known as The Life of The Mind Series.

Through theme-related activities, discussions, lectures, media and celebrations, you will gain valuable space for engagement and reflection. Such engagement will enlighten you about your host community’s relationship to the wider world.

The current theme is Rhythms of the World - an opportunity to explore the manifestations, influence, and contributions of music in various communities and cultures.

Rhythms of the World

2014-2015 is dedicated to the exploration of cultures through music and rhythm in all its forms. Through activities and lectures which explore music in relation to emotion, history, globalization, commercialism and ritual, our staff and students will come to understand the universal impact of this form of expression; linking specific cultural experiences with common ideas, aspirations and uses across the world.

Life of the Mind Themes:

2012: Origins: People, Place & Identity

2011: The Elements of VITA

2010: Sports, Culture and Context

2009: Global Leadership

The Life of the Mind offers the chance for you to look below the surface of daily life and gain a more nuanced understanding of your host community, through the lens of the theme. It’s powerful to know that students are bringing that eye to their experiences in all of our locations. Just imagine all the variation – and similarity! ”

Dr. Alison LaLond Wyant

Assistant Dean for Experiential Education

Italy

Goran Bregovic Concert, Rome. Students experienced the blending of different musical languages and the wonderful atmosphere of a world class orchestra in Rome’s Auditorium.

Ireland

Students had learned a lot at the Arcadia hosted traditional Irish music workshop: The Tin Whistle. They enjoyed learning about the history, rhythm and importance of music.

Greece

Students venture to Stoa of the Immortals, to eat, observe and dance to Rebetiko music.

Sicily, Italy

Students in Sicily, in collaboration with local schools and drama groups, stage and present a musical.

Scotland

Students revel in a night of fast, furious fun to the sound of the fiddle, accordion and pipes at our Tur-Ceilidh.